Mrs. Helen Ilonge,
Primary Health Care Coordinator in Bekwara Local Government Area of
Cross River State and a widow with five children, has been
murdered by suspected ritualists, who cut some of her private parts off
for alleged ritual purposes.
Mrs. Ilonge, who lost her husband about twelve years ago, was
kidnapped last week while returning from a church programme at
Assemblies of God, Abakaliki, in Ebonyi State, to her Ukpe village,
along Ikom-Ogoja Highway and was subsequently beheaded.Speaking on the matter, Cross River State Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Osita Ezechukwu, said about four persons have been arrested by the
anti-homicide unit, adding that when investigations were completed, the
suspects would be prosecuted.
“We have taken confessional statement from them. Those who are not
involved have been allowed to go while those who are involved are still
in detention,” he said.An okada rider in Bekwara identified as Ifeanyi alias koboko is one of the suspects arrested by the police. He was said to have been paid N10, 000 by a suspected ritualist
whose name was given as Elvis Okumo. He allegedly beheaded the nurse
and severed other vital reproductive parts including breast.
It was gathered that 51-year old Mrs Ilonge met Ifeanyi who had allegedly been contracted by the ritualist
to supply vital parts of a woman and he was said to have taken the lady
from Okpogrinya Junction on the pretence that he was taking her to
Igoli, Ogoja, her destination, some ten minutes’ drive from the point
but along the way stopped and handed her over to the kidnappers at Ukpe.
According to the victim’s neighbor, Mrs. Theresa Idagwu, the late
Mrs. Ilonge “called her daughter Victoria Agah at about 9 pm that she
was at Okpogrinya junction that she was taking a cyclist to Igoli and
that when she gets to Igoli, she would call again so that she (Victoria)
can boil water for her because she was cold following the rain which
has been falling all day and she was drenched-that was the last call.”
Mrs. Idagwu alleged that was the last they heard of her until two
days later when a call came through from the kidnappers demanding for a
ransom of N50,000 which should be sent through MTN and GLO recharge
cards.
“We looked everywhere, in police
stations, hospitals and even her friends in Igoli, thinking that maybe
an accident had occurred along the road but we got nothing,” she said.When her daughter could not raise the money for the recharge cards,
she rushed to the Bekwara council headquarters where the head of
administration, Mr. Bisong Bogbo and the chairman of council Mr. Linus
Edeh provided the money sent to the kidnapers.
The Bekwara Council Head of Administration, Mr. Bogbo said,
“Initially they said they were at Ishi Eke near Abakaliki. The voice
claimed that he needed the recharge so he could sell and run away from
the master who was a ritualist
whom he has been serving for a long time and was tired. He said once he
gets the cards he will break the door where the nurse was kept and
release her.”
According to him, after the cards were sent to the kidnaper by the
daughter, the kidnapper called to say he was going to confirm if the
cards were genuine but after that his phone was switched off.However after hours of panic and anxiety, we later heard that the
woman was cut in pieces and it was the tracking device that located the
place of the voice to be in Abuochiche and some people confirmed that
Ifeanyi was selling MTN and GLO recharge cards.
The two suspects arrested; Ifeanyi and the mastermind of the kidnap,
Elvis according to Bogbo confessed that the woman had already been
butchered after Ifeanyi collected the recharge cards and her other
remains buried in a swamp.
He said “The thing is that, the woman was wasted because the oracle
they took her head and private parts to rejected them and were thrown
away.”
Police sources say the suspects would be prosecuted as soon as possible.
